The Upside-Down Kingdom, PART II. (Women’s Ordination, Laundry and Cigars Again)

There is much talk these days about equality in the church, . . . and here's another confession if you didn't already know it (this time about the Presbyterian Church in America) . . . our denomination does not ordain women as pastors and elders. Understandably so, to many this is an abhorrent notion reeking of inequality and injustice. Yet, I wonder if it would be so abhorrent if we (men and women alike) really understood the Gospel as being about One who did not seek equality, instead "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant . . . ." I'm a man (and a master of the obvious), and you might think that these things are easy for a man to say. Nietzsche probably would have called this kind of reasoning something along the lines of a teaching purported by those in power to keep people down and subservient. Yet if we really understood the Gospel and the nature of the upside-down Kingdom, wouldn't we all be striving for INEQUALITY? Would those who have the opportunity/role, whatever you want to call it, of submission and service be among those most envied in that world and held up high on a pedestal, rather than those with "authority" and "decision-making power"? As I tell BOTH partners in my many premarriage sessions, in the Kingdom of God EVERYONE is trying to go low, so should both husband and wife in the marriage relationship.

Look, I know the reason this way of thinking may seem outrageous is because we live in a fallen world tainted with injustice, corruption, abuse of power and love of self above love of neighbor. Yet, what if the "entire world" operated in this way where the higher up you go on the totem pole of power and authority, the greater servant you become? Isn't this the Kingdom we are to: 1) pray for in the Lord's Prayer and 2) work at realizing in our marriages, churches and eventually the world? Is it really a terrible world where EVERYONE is seeking to be less equal in privilege, function and prestige to the next guy? and instead where EVERYONE is seeking to uplift, uphold and bring out the best in EVERYONE ELSE (Matt. 20:26)?

C.S. Lewis once said that democracy where all functions and offices are virtually open to all people (at least in theory), is necessary because corruption and sin are present in the world. Yet imagine a world where corruption and sin are being put off and the "world order" being restored where the guy on top is the greatest servant among us. Kind of sounds like a Kingdom where the King is the greatest servant doesn't it? Sound familiar? And what if that world had a certain creational pattern in marriage and in the church that was being restored where, while the husband might be the "Head" in marriage and the church elders might be male in nature, yet Christlikeness was being formed in and among the people of those institutions, that to have authority simply meant "the right to serve the very best interests of those whom one might seek to lead"? This kind of world envisioned is radical, I know. It is so far outside the plausibility construct of those of us who our entire lives have breathed the air of democratic ideals. Can I ask you to consider that perhaps a superior notion rests on the assumption of a world order where a redeemed hierarchy exists alongside Christ-like ideals (we do refer to the vision of this kind of world as a "Kingdom" after all, don't we?). Will you at least consider it as food for thought?

Many of these thoughts have pressed in on me over the years now having been an ordained PCA pastor for ten years. I've been asked a lot over the years if I believe men are more qualified than women to be pastors. Let me just say for the record, that among men and women alike in the church, I believe myself to be the LEAST QUALIFIED to be a teaching elder, i.e. pastor. Why so? Because as head pastor, while I am called to be the greatest servant in my congregation, truth of the matter is that serving others above myself does not come naturally for me (remember my original confession in Part I.?). Yet the amazing thing is that in this arena called the Church, where the Kingdom of God is meant to manifest itself, even Mike Hsu is growing in putting on Christ and putting off sin (did you hear that?! even Mike Hsu is growing! Do you believe in miracles?). After a mere almost twenty years as a Christian, I am beginning to learn how to be a servant.

I've never viewed "having authority" in the church as a "neat thing" or a great opportunity to wield power or a "right to which I am entitled." Rather I've spent countless hours feeling so overwhelmed and broken over the responsibility of being an "undershepherd" over God's flock. No offense my many women friends at Grace Chapel, many of whom I know are pro-women's ordination, but if I told all my women friends in the world that they would never ever have to . . . (fill in the blank with the most feared or despised thing one would just as well never do) how would they/you feel? So for example, what if I came home one day and said to my wife Tanya, "honey from now on you must never ever do another load of laundry again." Would Tanya's first inclination be to appeal to inequality and injustice? Or would it be gladly to give over the function of laundry for ever and ever? I dare say that being an elder in Christ's church is not too far off from laundry as a most inglorious task! Really, there is a sense to me that any gender can have it if they want it, but upon seeing what it is, to account for peoples’ souls and pour over them in prayer with worry and concern, who REALLY, I mean REALLY wants it?

Pardon the really bad illustration, but here goes . . . though not having had one for a long time, I love a really good cigar. You know the cigar that everyone wants right? A Cuban cigar! But why? Because no one can have it (at least until the embargo is lifted). Truth of the matter is that most of the time anymore Cuban cigars aren't that good at all! As far as I'm concerned the best cigar in the world is a Nicaraguan Padron 1964 anniversario edition, see what I'm saying? Maybe the best “functions” in the church really are everything but pastor-elder work, see what I’m saying? This is weird thinking to us, but not because it is weird thinking in itself! It is weird thinking because we are weird. We live in a weird world where pastors are often made to be stars with prestige, power, accolades (and sometimes fame). But maybe in a nonweird world (the Kingdom?), the call of pastor-elder is truly a most inglorious and humble task . . . like laundry?!

The Upside-Down Kingdom, PART I. (Servanthood)

I have a confession to make. I'm kind of ashamed to say this but for the first eighteen years of my life I lived for myself. If I have a description of my childhood, I remember being bored with life and terribly self-absorbed . . . and I was really unhappy too. The Lord Jesus came into my life second semester freshman year at the University of Kansas and for the last almost twenty years, I've been learning to live within the framework of His life-giving ways. What that means is that my life has been one of putting off the "old man" and putting on Christ. What THAT means is that I've been learning how to find true joy and meaning in life by dying to my selfishness and learning how to find my greatest joy in the service of others.

The problem with me is that serving others has never come that naturally for me. I'm a high introvert, and I can also be terribly self-absorbed too. I am protective of MY time and when I am unable to have MY time and serve MY agenda, I can become terribly frustrated. You know the passage in Philippians 2 that talks about taking on the attitude of Jesus by considering others' interests as more important than your own? This has been the story of my (regenerate) life, trying to do the Philippians 2 thing. In my natural state, I would rather take up my own life than empty it. I would rather reach for power and control rather than give it up. I'd rather become great first rather than take the form of a servant first.

And I think this is the amazing thing about the Gospel that God Himself took the form of a servant. Can you wrap your head around that amazing truth? I can't. Colossians 1:15,16 talks about how Jesus is the image of the Invisible God, how in Him all things hold together and that all things were created by Him. So Jesus is the Creator God of the Universe. In our frenetically-paced lives, stop and think about that for just fifteen minutes, maybe let it soak in for thirty. Now hear the Philippians 2:6,7 part about how though being God, Jesus did not take hold of that equality, instead made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, . . .

Cultural Engagement and Alignment, part. 2 (sort of)

OK, so I had a hard time spitting out what I was trying to say in my 05.27.08 posting. I even had a hard time explaining it to a small group of friends in Colorado this last week. But then I was reading "The Irresistible Revolution," by Shane Claiborne recently and Claiborne said it perfectly:


"My mandate is straight from the mouth of my heavenly King, through the lips of the Prince of Peace - to love my enemies - and yet I still falter. May we cling to the truth that every human being is created in the image of God. Do we believe the children of Iraq are just as precious as the children of New York? A love for our own people is not a bad thing, but why should love stop at the border? We, the people of rebirth, have an allegiance that runs much deeper than nationalism" (pp. 366-67).


Well said Claiborne. Do I recommend the rest of his book? I don't know - the book did a lot of things to me, and I'm still sorting through it all. I'll say this much- stay away from the book if you don't like books "doing things to you."

Banqueting in the Grave

Taken from "Addictions - A Banquet in the Grave," by Ed Welch, "Notice the difference between 'I'm Jim. I'm an alcoholic' and 'I'm Jim. I am part of the body of Christ. I am part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God' (1Peter 2:9)."

A common theme has emerged for me in recent weeks as I've spent time at the Peoples City Mission, traveled to Walthill, thought about many of the struggles of Grace Chapel people and then thought about my own life- that theme is addiction. I recently finished Welch's book and it was really good, one I recommend that as many people as possible read.

Alcoholism has utterly devastated the lives of a huge percentage of people at Walthill. When one of the Native families gave their lives to Jesus last year, one of the areas they began working on (both husband and wife) was giving up "the bottle." Yet the problem of being ruled by the bottle is so great in Walthill that this couple explained that on a few occasions other tribal members would leave a six-pack of beer on their front porch tempting them to drink again, that at times they didn't even have food in the refrigerator (and the other tribal members knew it) but that beer would be left rather than food.

I've spent time at the Curtis Center at the Peoples City Mission. The Curtis Center is the transitional housing side of the PCM where men might live for one or more years, pay rent, participate in the various PCM programs until such a time as they can find housing in Lincoln. Whenever one of the men leaves for a few days, it is standard procedure to take a UA to see if they have been "clean" during the time of being away. Most recently, I was hanging out with Chuck who directs the Curtis Center and one of the men came back from a trip only to test positive for cocaine, alcohol and a few other things as well.

I've pastored Grace Chapel people for eight years now and maybe it goes without saying but the number of men who struggle with addiction to internet pornography is quite high. My own history here is not "clean" either as one who learned about the "birds and the bees" during the early teen years primarily by watching porn (this was my introduction to the subject of sex).

Alcohol, drugs and porn- typical things we think about as we think of "addictions." Yet how many of us are addicted to things we might not think of readily as "terrible addictions"? Being addicted to success? To counting our money? Comfort? To having a sterling reputation? Being thought of in a certain way? To exercise? To work? To the approval of others? Food (even healthy food)? Control? Eating at a certain time every day (anyone here turn into a monster when having missed a meal?)? Things? Hobbies? Our way of doing things? Being right? Does not the list go on and on?

How many of us have lived with certain desires that at times mastered us more than Christ? Can any of us honestly say that we know nothing of the apostle Paul's experience in Romans 7:15, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate to do"? As Ed Welch says on pg. 14 of his book, "Scripture always stretches categories so that they include us all. . . . What can own you besides Christ?" You see, the underlying problem with addiction is idolatry, giving our hearts to the desires that rule us apart from the reign of Christ in our lives. And who among us lives with a heart engaged for Jesus loving Him perfectly at all times and in every way? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

My friends, you cannot tell someone who drowns his sorrows in strong drink simply to "cut it out." What happens to the Native person who thinks about the time when everything was taken from his people, when the men of his tribe were no longer able to protect and defend their women and children (some are still alive who faced these terrible injustices you know?) and the anger, bitterness and heartache begin to settle in once again? What does he do with that unceasing anger and sorrow? He numbs it with alcohol. And you are going to tell him to "cut it out"? C'mon guys, sometimes when the pain of the memory is so great, don't you see that maybe it feels better to be drunk than sober?

But what if you tell that guy, you know there is a friend and Savior who absorbed all the injustice you have known, also all the injustice you have ever committed and every injustice the world has ever known and did so without objection (Isa. 53:7) so that you might know: 1) His great love for you and 2) His promise to judge the earth one day righting every injustice ever, . . . but that in the meantime He wants you to trust Him and have your heart forged in this fiery trial so that you might know a kind of life that you never dared dream possible? In the midst of your sadness, I know the bottle is like a momentary feast, but it's only a banquet in the grave dude (I've been hanging out with Ben Loos so must employ the 'dude' language). He is the drink who satisfies all other thirsts that you might truly be free, controlled by no one or substance, only by the One who wants to set us free to live in the fullness of how we were meant to live. So the invitation of the prophet Isaiah is now the invitation of Jesus, the prophet of God par excellence (Hebrews 1:1,2), "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost" (Isa. 55:1).

So is Mike Hsu an addict? The term is a complicated one- it has so many varying associations attached to it. Let me respond in this way, "Mike Hsu is even worse than an addict. He is an idolater of the first degree." Yet Mike Hsu's life is found in a Sovereign and a Savior who has loved him and given his life for him. Growing in this incredible reality moves me, changes me and transforms me (some days more so than others) and giving myself to it is the only way I know how to battle and defeat my own uncontrollable desires as well as lead others to doing so.

"Hi. I'm Mike (you say . . . 'hi Mike'). . . . I am part of the body of Christ. I am part of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God."

UmoHo, "People Against the Current"

I've now been back in Lincoln for a week since spending seven days in Walthill, NE. I've had a little time to process my week with the people of the Omaha tribe, but overall I know there is much debriefing to be done before we get a sense of what Grace Chapel's involvement will look like in Walthill. Let me begin by describing much of the week:

The drive to Walthill took about 2.5 hours. We drove in on Hwy 77- basically Walthill is straight north of Lincoln. Walthill is a town of about 900 people, predominantly American Indians of the Omaha tribe. Not too long ago, the town was inhabited by predominantly Anglo people, but when the Omaha people began to migrate out of Macy, Walthill became the place of destination. So imagine a small town in Lincoln with houses (not teepees), now inhabited by predominantly Native peoples. As mentioned in my last blogpost, poverty among Native Americans across Nebraska is around 46%. However, it would not surprise me if in Walthill poverty levels are twice that (above 90%). There is hardly an economy in Walthill and children roam the streets at all hours. Gangs are present as well. Our team leader Dave Krueger described Walthill, while in small-town Nebraska, as being similar to an "inner-city" situation. Many of the houses are boarded up, others burned out by bored kids who find ways to entertain themselves by destroying things. Alcoholism has killed/impacted much of the population through liver disease and diabetes. Some of my wife's relatives who live a few miles away in another town simply refer to the people of Walthill as "troublemakers."

What did we do? We ran Vacation Bible School (VBS) and told Native children about how much Jesus loves them. On MWF we had over twenty kids. For some reason on TTh we had around eight. On most days, a local law enforcement vehicle parked outside our VBS because some of the boys participating were suspected of stealing. This was never established, but it was quite the site (or sight), a group of people running VBS with the local sheriff "supervising." In some of the older boys who came, ate cheese and crackers, did crafts, sat (for the most part) hearing Bible stories, I was captured with how tough they were on the one hand with their street-smarts, knowledge of the ways (curse) of the world, broad range and knowledge of profane words and profane acts that no child should know . . . yet at the same time how they were simply scared kids needing to be loved and know about the love of God for them. To be frank, after the first day of VBS I suggested perhaps kicking out some of the older boys because of how distracting they were to the other kids who seemed very sincere and wanting to learn and listen, . . . yet was humbled to see many of those same older boys as some of the few returning on Tuesday when only eight kids showed up! and even saying when I saw them out and about that "VBS was fun and not boring like we thought it would be."

In addition to VBS, we participated in six different restoration projects including painting two houses owned by native women and doing yard work for another native woman. It felt good to beautify some houses that were in some pretty serious need of paint- the women were so grateful. Some significant highlights of the week: 1) Mary and Orville who came to Christ last year, spent almost the entire week with us on our work sites, with their kids in VBS and sharing meals together (their son Callen is pictured at the top); 2) ministering with the men on our trip to a native man Duane who was broken due to the cancer that had turned his wife into a shell of the woman she used to be and 3) spending the week with Ben Loos, Kelly Russell, Jake Meador and seeing Greg Baker, Linn Erickson, my family as well as the Guthrie family come up for a day during the week.

Practical implications: 1) the trip is quite cost effective ($350 for seven days- compare to $1350 for Haiti for seven days). I think our partnership with Haiti will always remain strong, but what Walthill provides us is the opportunity for others who might have a heart for ministry with more nearby peoples; 2) people who are good with working with children and have skills in painting, construction and housing projects are great on this trip, though admittedly myself being somewhat weak in these areas had a great week too; 3) if some are unable to take a week off or are simply uncomfortable living on air-mattresses, in close quarters and showering in the local high school, the option remains to come down for the afternoon or for just a couple two-three days; 4) the Native peoples who spoke to us were very receptive to our intentions to be there, which to me was a bit surprising given the uneven history between "Christian missionaries" and Native Americans. Duane remembers thinking during his childhood that if he was going to set foot in a Christian church that he would need to cut his sacred hair to do so, so he found other ways to learn about God (outside the church). I am a Christian. In the annuls of church history, Eusebius records of the teenage slave girl Blandina who was put to death for her faith. Upon being asked one last time if she wanted to save her life by recanting her faith, Blandina responded, "I am a Christian. We do nothing of which to be ashamed." I am a Christian. I speak for my own- shame on us for dishonoring the memory of our sister Blandina by keeping the Native peoples from seeing the Gospel clearly and knowing the love of Jesus. Short hair as an essential of the faith? Gimme a break.

All that to say, I was excited and pleased that the Omaha people we came across were very receptive to Christian people coming to their town, if only we might come in love with the only agenda being to serve. Given the rocky history between Christians and Native peoples, before going to Walthill my primary goal for our team was that for Jesus' sake we would leave the week having done more good than harm. For the most part, I think we accomplished our goal- would that goal multiply into the future as we pray about loving these dear, beautiful and Beloved people who have always lived "against the current."

Good News Far as the Curse is Found

I remember a few years ago leading a Sunday School class and making the case for how while inclusive of the salvation of souls, that the Gospel was even bigger than the salvation of souls, that Jesus came to restore everything in all of creation that was broken, indeed that He had come "to make His blessings flow far as the curse is found." One of the primary ways I established this was by asking the class, "precisely what is the 'good news' announcement that Jesus comes to bring?" and a number of answers from the class began to describe the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, His substitutionary atonement for sinners and the gift of eternal life to all who embrace the Cross by faith.

Now, . . . let me pause for a second because all that I just said is amazing stuff. How can we ever get over the precious message about God who demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us?!!!

Yet, . . . the answers given in class were incomplete. The good news announcement that Jesus brought was . . . Luke 4:43 . . . "But he (Jesus) said, 'I must preach the GOOD NEWS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.'” Jesus comes to bring good news about the restoration of all things through the reversal of sin's curse on ALL of creation, human beings included, but also everything else included as well.

The alienation of souls from God is a spiritual problem. The Cross addresses fully our spiritual problem through the forgiveness of sins. The alienation of people from one another is a social problem. The Cross addresses fully our social problem through the restoration and re-establishment of true human community. Poverty is an economic problem. The Cross addresses fully our economic problem through the re-distribution of wealth and alleviation of financial pressure points (see the early church in Acts 2:42ff. as one example of this). Low self-esteem is a psychological problem. The Cross addresses fully our psychological problem by re-orienting our thoughts to our value as: 1) those who bear the likeness of our Creator (Gen. 1:26 and Psalm 8) and 2) those who have been adopted into His family as dearly loved children, precious in His eyes (Col. 3:12). Everything that is wrong, unjust and broken in this world can be traced back to sin's curse upon it. And everything that is wrong, unjust and broken in this world can find the promise of restoration through the "good news" that Jesus has come to bring.

You see, the Gospel is the "good news announcement of the presence of the Kingdom of God in His Son." In other words, the Gospel is the announcement about the rule and reign of God present among us to restore all that was lost due to the devastating effects of sin's curse on the world. Think about the Lord's Prayer for a second, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." The prayer is about the completion of the work that Jesus began while here on earth as all of human history awaits consummation. But every time the "Lord's Prayer" is answered, we have "good news"! We have the reversal of sin's curse through the establishment of the rule and reign of God through His Son, present among us!

Whenever you do what is right, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever you live sacrificially instead of selfishly, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever you advocate for the defenseless, needy and oppressed, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever you proclaim Christ in love, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever you speak truthfully and graciously to someone, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever wives feel cherished by their husbands, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever husbands feel respected by their wives, sin's curse is reversed. Whenever the orderliness and loveliness of the likeness and character of our Creator shines in and through His people, extending and overflowing to others, sin's curse is reversed.

So I was in Sunday School and after making what I thought was a fairly clear and compelling case, I continued "The Gospel addresses not just poverty of spirit but poverty of any kind, period." One young man unable to contain himself any longer blurted out, "But, where's that in the Bible?!" Admittedly, exasperated after my long (and thorough so I thought) intro. (Lord help us all!), I blurted back, "EVERYWHERE!" and went on to rattle off about 785 Scripture passages starting with Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor."

Oh, that the desirable fruit of the Spirit (peace, joy, patience, kindness, self-control, etc.) would overcome my impetuosity more often than currently seems to be the case! In further reflection, I realized that this young man was simply expressing that which he had always been taught and that so much of the American Evangelical heritage has been to: 1) preach the Gospel in the context of the salvation of souls only and 2) be very suspicious of those who emphasize issues of social justice and poverty relief as being a "social" rather than “true” gospel.

One of the things I learned in seminary was that theological beliefs are never formed in a historical vacuum, rather are always conditioned by historical and cultural circumstances. One of the movements in theological liberalism (what was once called modernism) was the willingness to "let go" of some the core pieces to historical and orthodox belief that had accompanied the Church since the time of the apostles. Some key examples: 1) belief in the Virgin Birth; 2) belief in the historical nature of the resurrection; 3) belief in the substitutionary nature of the atonement of Christ; 4) belief in the full authority of the Bible and 5) belief in the imminence of Christ's 2nd coming. Originally, the motivation behind movements in theological liberalism was to preserve a kind of Christian credibility within the halls of academia following in the wake of Darwin's 1859 work, "Origin of the Species." Basically, what modernism/liberalism attempted was to "gut" from the Christian belief structure the role of the miraculous. Yet as J. Gresham Machen handsomely argued in his classic work, "Christianity and Liberalism," to gut Christian belief structure of the role of the miraculous is to gut it of its essence, of being Christian at all! All that to say, through the 20th century just about every church group in this country was impacted in one way or another by the influence of "modernism" into our churches and this explains in part why there continue to be "mainline" verses "evangelical" churches and why the mainliners look at the evangelicals as preachy hypocrites who do nothing to alleviate societal ills and why the evangelicals look at the mainliners as those who make people more comfortable as they go to hell, without the benefit of the message of life eternal offered to us in the Son.

The social gospel . . . historically, cuss words to the typical evangelical. "Where is feeding the poor in the Bible?" Now myself being an evangelical, this is where we need to step back and reflect more deeply on the way in which American Evangelical culture has influenced the way we come to the Bible and see certain themes in Scripture, yet miss others. Remember, the young man asking the question was always taught to believe the Bible and live by it. Yet he couldn't so much as see God's heart for the poor inside that same Bible he had read from his youth, "So he replied to the messengers, 'Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor'" (Luke 7:22). Why was this so? Because his/our Christianity is conditioned in a historical context with much pushing and pulling informing our reading of the Bible. And while we can never get away from that reality entirely, we can become more aware of it, reflecting more deeply upon it so as to grow in our understanding.

So how has this truth about "good news to the poor" been interfacing with my sabbatical as of late? Really in two ways. First of all, I've had the opportunity to spend two hours on Fridays for the last three weeks at the Peoples City Mission (PCM) here in Lincoln. PCM Executive Director Tom Barber tells me that 91% of Lincoln's homeless population will come through the PCM at some point through the year. The PCM runs an annual budget of around 13 million dollars and employs 72 staffers. It's quite an organization. Also, the remarkable thing about the PCM is that despite all the evangelical history stuff I talked/rambled about, remarkably the PCM has been decidedly evangelical for the duration of its 100+ years of existence. It is a group, while welcoming of all people, groups, denominations, religions and faith orientations, at the end of the day is motivated and staffed by people who embrace and lift up the name of the risen Lord! Each week while on sight, I "process" a little bit more on the possibility of a more tangible and viable partnership between the people of Grace Chapel and the PCM, and each week I become exposed to another facet of this rather large and exciting ministry.

Secondly, I am preparing to take a seven- day trip from June 7-14th up to Walthill, NE where I, along with a few other Grace Chapel people, will be spending the week to serve the Native American people of the Omaha tribe. Mainly we will be working on restoration projects, driving hammers and nails and then running Vacation Bible School for Native American children in the afternoons. We will sleep in one of the local churches and shower out of the local high school. A few years ago, the Nebraska Office of Minority Heath and Human Services, documented that 46.2% of Native Americans living in Nebraska were living in poverty, the highest of all ethnic groups in Nebraska. What is more, while I don't have any particular statistics, the Omaha people seem to be "worse off" than some of the other Native American groups. There is something in me that says Jesus would be on the reservation if He were walking bodily among us today.

Now, admittedly, engagement with Native American peoples is tricky business given the long history of uneven and unjust treatment such people have received at the hands of "Christian missionaries."

Jeff Warner, Lutheran missionary to the Omaha people, writes:

"I am quite often personally, poignantly reminded of late that it was not the Muslim extremist who came to this place, took the lives of these people, destroyed the homes of these villages and left violence, poverty, disease and generations of grief in their wake. It was the Christian missionaries, pastors and people who spoke and acted wrongfully in the precious Name of Jesus- and often in cooperation with their civil and federal officials. Tribal members who watched their relatives get beaten by Christians, those who saw their property stolen by Christians, and those who stood helpless while many died from diseases formerly unknown among them- these people remind me of those things to my face. And missionaries who come here with another gospel remind the people often enough of those things too."

How do a group of people pray for and work for "Thy Kingdom Come" when their own history is littered with people who have come in Jesus' name to compound the curse "far as the curse is found," rather than relieve it and portray the goodness of God in His Son? I guess only humbly, on our knees, with hearts filled with grief and repentance for the "sins done and left undone" to these people. When I was younger and a new Christian, I wanted to “change the world for Jesus.” Almost twenty years later, I still want the world to be changed for Jesus, but I don’t want to be the one doing the changing. It seems whenever I take things into my own hands, I tend to do more damage to people than good. But I know if I pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” that the hope of real change is possible, if only we might listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice and direction showing us how best to love a people who need to know how precious they are in His sight.

So we explore some ministry possibilities with the Omaha people this next week. Pray for the week, for wisdom, insight, direction and mainly that blessing rather than curse might flow from us to the people of Walthill.

Cultural Engagement and Alignment

So where have I been these last two weeks since my last posting? Well, you know how I said that I might buy a motorcycle, possibly in 2009? Well, the timetable got moved up just a little, . . . I bought a motorcycle last week! Yikes! My neighbor asked me if it was an impulse buy. Now, . . . that's a hard question to answer because as my last post read, it's a decision I've been mulling over for twenty years now. So was it an impulse buy? Well, being a guy who tends to make decisions slowly, in a sense had I waited twenty-one years, there is something in me that says it would have been less impulsive than waiting a hasty twenty years. So what have I been doing these last fourteen days? Well, isn't it clear yet? I've been riding my motorcycle and trying to think great thoughts about God, at the same time! Actually, the key word in that last sentence is "trying." You see, if you get too caught up fixing your thoughts on heaven while on a motorcycle you're likely to miss the driver who pulls out in front of you in heavy traffic! As they teach you in class, it's probably better to scan the road at all times, "Searching, Evaluating and Executing" (comprising the nice acrostic SEE- sure enough, that's me as the diligent student practicing SEE! and "yes" that is the new hog I'm riding).

I know this is a weird way of getting around to my subject today, but I remember years ago, after having received Jesus as my Savior, thinking that the only point to life in this world was to get to the next one. I've since changed my perspective in a fairly dramatic way. The Lord's Prayer has now become my central vision for life on earth, that "His Kingdom come and will be done 'on earth as it is in heaven'," that so much of what we are to be about in the here and now, is living rather "earthy" lives holding onto the grand vision that one day all of creation be renewed (Rom. 8:20,21 and Matt. 19:28). The implications in all this are that we see our lives here on earth to be terribly important to God and that we set living well for Him now as a chief goal in preparation for the world to come!

This brings me to: 1) an incredibly encouraging observation I've made the last couple weeks about the church at large in our city and 2) a somewhat discouraging observation as well though I do believe the discouraging part isn't for lack of sincerity on the part of believers here in this city (and as I'll explain later that I, Mike Hsu, contribute to the discouraging part as well). I'll explain more on this second point, but let's start with the incredibly encouraging observation.

The last two weeks, I've been to two different churches each led by dear friends of mine. Both of the men who lead their respective congregations are men of integrity, prayer and great passion for Christ. The two churches are both of very different denominational traditions and backgrounds from Grace Chapel as well as from one another. However, what they both share in common with Grace Chapel (and one another) is that they see a purpose for the work of God to impact this world in dramatic and powerful ways. Along with Grace Chapel, they both see cultural engagement and transformation as a central part of the mission of the church. I think that is so exciting and encouraging, that fellow evangelical churches would see engagement of the world for the sake of Christ as a central aim of the Church universal. That we should engage the world for Christ is agreed upon- that’s the encouraging part, but as mentioned there’s also a discouraging part as well right? But as I proceed, to guard against any “us against them” tone as if we at Grace Chapel have this cultural engagement question figured out, know the following observations come with my identification with the struggle rather than the belief to stand above or outside it.

Let me flesh this out more specifically by describing some of the content of the worship services these last two weeks. First of all, two Sundays ago a key part of the message was addressing the importance of housing and feeding the poor in this city and making a difference by meeting the needs of people in Lincoln. So far so good right? But the tension began to arise for me when my pastor friend went on to talk about how certain local leaders and representatives were now looking to the various churches in our city to participate in state-sponsored programs designed to address poverty in Lincoln, and the pastor concluded by saying with excitement in his voice, "Government is now looking to the church for finding solutions to poverty in our city,” and with excitement and passion declared, “This could be the church's finest hour!"

Secondly, this last Sunday just a couple of days ago, Tanya, kids, Darius, his friend Ben and I went to another church also led by another good friend of mine and seeing that we were in memorial day weekend, there was an extended time during the service to give thanks for the great sacrifice that our US soldiers had given for this country, especially for those who had paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Various servicemen both past and present stood to be honored. And in this 2nd church, my pastor friend prayed for our soldiers to be blessed and protected as they served overseas especially in places like Iraq and Afghanistan seeking to preserve our freedoms as Americans. In so many ways, to honor our men and women in uniform was a beautiful and wonderful thing. Yet at the risk of sounding like an ungrateful or unpatriotic American, I felt a kind of tension arise in my heart as had happened at a similar point the previous Sunday.

Again, at the risk of sounding ungrateful or unpatriotic, the tension for me was that we were praying for American soldiers who carry arms across the globe, yet as people with our first allegiance to our citizenship in heaven, shouldn't our message be primarily about our missionary armies who carry Kingdom weapons across the globe [like the sword of the Spirit (the Word of God), faith and prayer], for the sake of the Gospel? that the Church militant (as they said in the old days to describe the people of God progressing the Gospel) should always be front and center in our message, perhaps?

Please hear me now, I am sooooooo grateful for our men and women in uniform, but I don’t agree with Billy Sunday, America’s best known preacher before Billy Graham, coming off the heels of WWI when Sunday said that “hell and traitors are synonymous terms.” Also let me clarify further, I am not a pacifist, . . . but I do see the argument of pacifist people like William Willimon and Stanley Hauerwas who challenge their readers with the question of imagining a brother in Christ in one army of one country killing a brother in Christ in another army serving another country, that such a scenario is unthinkable participation for all who claim to follow Christ and hold an ultimate allegiance to a heavenly citizenship. Of course, in this new age of a "war on terror," here in the West we might tend to think that none of the "bad guys" are Christians at all but only terrorists and extremists. . . even if we grant that such were the case, would that somehow make it OK to kill them when Jesus said to love our enemies and do good to them? Just challenging your thinking and especially mine (seeing that I am a just war theorist and stand by capital punishment as well).

OK, I've probably said about a ca-zillion things to light some fires under people, but here's the tension in all this whether we are talking about riding motorcycles, feeding the poor or military involvement- for the church of Jesus Christ and the progress of the Gospel, what is an appropriate alignment with state-sponsored agencies, programs and institutions? OK, so maybe riding motorcycles doesn't so much belong in this discussion, but it was a nice try wouldn't you say?

It seems to me that as a corporate group of people called the Church of Jesus Christ, we have to work hard to make our Gospel message clear, that we don't fight with weapons of power and coercion to accomplish our goals and that the transformation of the world begins with transformation of the church. It seems like the power of the early church in places like Acts 2:42ff. was in how they shared possessions in common to rid fellow believers of want. Or that the admonition in Deut. 15 was about Israel dealing with poverty from within her own ranks, that what makes the Church a transformational presence in the world is that our seeking solutions for the world's problems has always been motivated by one central message about a Savior who became poor for our sakes that we might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). And while I do see so many occasions to give thanks to those who serve so faithfully in uniform (and what better way to commend such dear people than during memorial day weekend?), nonetheless believe the corporate witness of the Church must first and foremost be about commending a missionary army who, around the world TODAY, are sharing Christ, loving people and dying for the preaching of the Gospel as spiritual weapons of love, evangelism and prayer are utilized. Maybe Richard J. Neuhaus was onto something when he once said, "the best thing the Church can be for the world is the Church."

Now, please hear what I am not saying here. I am not saying we should remove ourselves from involvement in government agencies, military service and other forms of cultural engagement. Remember I am not a pacifist nor a separatist. I say with humble confidence that the Amish and Mennonite traditions have gotten some things wrong here. What I am saying is that as a corporate group of people who comprise the Church, we have to be careful how we align with "world agencies" so that the message of the Gospel is communicated with clarity; that others see a people who believe the way up is first the way down in God's economy; that the pattern of their Savior as a suffering servant is clear; and that His people are willing to die for those on the other end of our spiritual swords called "The Word of God." As for involvement in politics, government agencies and the military, this must be the call of individual believers particularly but never the testimony of the corporate Body of Christ that testifies to Christ crucified and nothing more (or less). Isn't this what the Apostle Paul was trying to convey in claiming ignorance to all other matters (1Cor. 2:2), that the light of the Gospel might shine forth with clarity and power?

I understand the tensions revolving around the cultural engagement question, and lest you hear me saying these other two churches have gotten it wrong and Grace Chapel has gotten it right, know that I understand myself to be a part of “the perennial problem” as H. Richard Niebuhr once described in his classic work, "Christ and Culture." Niebuhr recognized these great tensions and identified at least five approaches that various church groups and traditions have taken through history. I think Grace Chapel would be adequately described by Niebuhr's classifications of "Christ Transforming Culture" and "Christ and Culture in Paradox." The former establishes for us that cultural engagement is our call as the Body of Christ (just as with the other two churches mentioned in this posting), the latter establishes more the method by which we accomplish our Kingdom task, by working on ourselves and our communities as a group of people set in distinction from the world's value systems (something perhaps all evangelical people can struggle with more rather than less), that the best thing the Church can be for the world is the Church.

Motorcycles, Cigars and Other Taboo Misc.

This last weekend, I invested fifteen hours into a motorcycle safety class at Southeast Community College. The class was tough, exciting, challenging and rewarding all at the same time. I've wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle for almost twenty years now. I entered the weekend with neither the knowledge nor the skill to do so. I came out of the weekend with both. Now that's pretty cool huh? Why did it take me so long to do it?

When I was in my teen years, I asked my parents about getting a motorcycle, and the answer on the part of my parents was simple, "no way, no how, not on your life bud, what are you crazy?!" When I got to college, the desire never left me. In fact, here are some true confessions. In 1992, I spent two months in Hungary with Campus Crusade for Christ, and our entire summer was spent sharing Christ with the Hungarians who were under a communist regime until 1989. The people were hungary to learn about spiritual matters (I know, bad Hsu humor), and over the course of the summer, our team of twelve people saw over seventy people place their faith in Christ! What a great summer it was, yet there is a confession here, right? All summer long, I thought about and devised a plan to come home and make a case before my parents as to why I was ready for a motorcycle. The reasoning went something like this, “I am about to become a senior in college and am mature and responsible enough to be a motorcycle owner.” Some of you might say, "heck Mike, you're a college senior, just go do it apart from your parents' approval!" Well, it's kind of hard to explain but that's not how 2nd generation kids with Asian parents roll. My parents' response? "no way, no how, not on your life bud, what are you crazy?!"

I graduated from college, got a job as a youth pastor (and school bus driver to supplement my youth pastor income), later got married to Tanya (yee ha!), went off to seminary, graduated, and then moved to Lincoln in 1998. I made a mental note in 1998 that while living in Lincoln, there were two things I wanted to learn: 1) how to golf and 2) how to ride a motorcycle. I learned how to golf in my first few years in Lincoln, though I'm still more of a hacker than a golfer. And then self-doubt kept me from taking motorcycle classes those first few years (another piece in all this is that when dad was young, his good buddy was killed in a motorcycle accident plus Tanya’s mom worked as an ER nurse for a while and had many horror stories of motorcycle crash victims). My plans to learn how to ride a motorcycle were put on hold further when in 2001 we started having kids and of course all kinds of cautions arose in my own head as well as from people around me who cared about me (not just parents). The cautions went something like this, "now you're a father Mike, you can't possibly in good conscience get on a motorcycle. Before you do something stupid like that, just think about those three little darling children of yours!" But another inner voice kept whispering (you know the two shoulders' thing? I'm just not sure which one was the angel and which the devil. These things are always far more clear in the movies!), but the voice said "all these years I've just wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle. At this point in my life the question of owning a motorcycle really is secondary. I just want to learn."

So this last weekend, I learned, . . . and it was awesome.

Will I buy a motorcycle? Yeah, probably at some point. I do have my M endorsement now you know? The riding test was one of the most difficult things I’ve done in a long time. If you don’t know much about motorcycles, understand that every limb is simultaneously operating but in different ways and at different rates. Imagine the right hand is on the throttle and front brake. The right foot is on the rear brake. The left hand is operating turn signals and clutch while the left foot is shifting gears (maybe there is something here connected to 1 Corinthians 12 about the Body of Christ and all its parts working together in perfect unity?). I know about IQ and even EQ (emotional intelligence) but this is something different altogether. Maybe MQ? Motorcycle Intelligence? By the way, the instructors at SECC were incredibly knowledgeable, very much aware of the great dangers of riding motorcycles and committed to providing the highest quality training so as to maximize the greatest potential for the future safety of their students. I was very impressed with the class and its instructors. When will I buy a motorcycle? I don’t know. I’m trying to be patient. I have waited twenty years for this you know? Maybe some time in 2009? but admittedly the itch to ride is pretty strong now.


Is there some kind of “moral lesson” I draw from all this? I think it’s pretty simple. I smoked about 2-4 cigars a month for the better part of five years and currently have taken a two-year hiatus from cigars. Let's just call it a cigar sabbatical. Along with motorcycle-riding, any form of smoking is “taboo” to the acceptance capacities of many people. There are certain “taboo” things that hit our grids a certain way when we hear about others’ participation in them and those things are a little different for everyone. For some it is politics (or a certain political affiliation). For others it is lifestyle choices. For some, doctrinal differences, yet others, parenting decisions. For my parents it just happened to be motorcycles (and to a lesser extent cigars). For me it’s gambling (which ironically my parents love and enjoy a lot), my children getting out of bed after they’ve gone down and a few other things. Yet, when we find those things we’ve deemed “taboo” to be in the lives of people with whom we interface daily, will we have the spiritual maturity to be slow to make judgments, first engaging in meaningful and gracious conversation and ultimately seek understanding before drawing our conclusions? There's something here, I'm a long ways from it myself, but there is something here. After she does something to violate one of my "taboo grids," my six-year old Mia in the midst of my scolding, unable to get a word in edgewise (man, I hate admitting this), on the verge of tears and desperate to find her voice sometimes will cry out, “daddy, you’re not listening to me!”

I want to listen. I really do. I want my daughter always to have a voice with me, especially as she grows, develops and seeks to find that voice in this big, uncertain and often hostile world. . . .

So I've envisioned this scenario and prepared myself in advance for how I will handle it. I imagine Mia comes to me when she’s fourteen and asks, “dad can I go on a date with a boy? He's really nice.” I envision I respond by praying for the spiritual maturity to listen, by being slow to make judgments, seeking understanding and genuinely engaging her heart. And then after doing those things, I envision saying to her in a loving voice, “no way, no how, not on your life bud, what are you crazy?!”

SWEET land

I thought I'd pass on to you this remarkable film Tanya and I watched last night. The cinematography and beauty of this film touched some pretty deep parts for me, especially as someone who grew up in the plains and will always have them as a part of him. While Tanya might have a different angle, the best part of the film for me was that even the minister and the church people found redemption (or it found them), though early in the film being terribly lost in their bondage to a form of soul-deadening Midwestern moralism.

By the way, if you are like me and have very limited opportunities to watch films and really want to make it count when you do, take advantage of Sam McKewon as an incredible resource at Grace Chapel. Sam heads up our film ministry, loves Christ a lot and is extremely knowledgeable when it comes to film. Sam can be reached at swmckewon@hotmail.com.

Creation? Junk? No Way. Go Berean!

This last Sunday we went to Berean, that little church of 5-6000 people down the road :-). It was a remarkable experience for a number of reasons. First of all, Ryan Dudney (a Grace Chapel guy) graduated from Berean's Christian Leadership College and along with three other graduates was honored during the worship service. The CLC is a challenging one-year program primarily designed to equip believers in the marketplace to think through questions about a biblical world and life view and to confidently engage the culture for Christ. Secondly, we saw about a zillion people we knew at Berean (who would have thunk it in a miniature city on Sundays five times the size of Tanya's grandparents' hometown of Pender, NE?). Thirdly, we had with us our ten-year old "former foster son" Darius who lived with us when he was three. Darius had a good buddy named Marquis who was five at the time and died of a rare blood disorder that year. The message series at Berean was on "heaven" and Marquis' family came on in a video clip to talk about Marquis dying and now being in heaven. Though separated by two children in our seating arrangement, I could hear my wife Tanya crying during the clip.

Fourthly and finally, I WAS WRONG! Hallelujah! Last week in my sermon, I made the comment that we would be hard-pressed to find in any corner of Lincoln an evangelical church proclaiming that in God's eyes the banker's job was as significant as the pastor's job or that for the Kingdom, the plumber's job was as important as the missionary's. I WAS WRONG! Hallelujah! Pastor Bryan Clark of Berean was preaching that our call as believers was to create a bit of heaven here on earth and that the things we do now, if done in the power of Christ and by His Spirit, in a mysterious way, would carry on into the New Heaven and Earth. I was SOOOOO encouraged to hear Pastor Clark seeing the goodness in God's material creation and the importance of "tending to the Garden" rather than seeking escape from it. This message coming out of Berean is even more remarkable in that the history of fundamentalism and a separatist attitude to the world runs right through the center of Berean churches (this is not said in a critical way, simply by way of observation and fact). While PCA churches have tended to this same separatist attitude, our history and the foundations of our theology have more readily lent themselves to thinking intentionally about engaging the culture in meaningful ways to redeem rather than scrap. Pastor Clark even quoted Romans 8:21! a key text to help us think through bringing renewal and redemption to the material world, i.e. creation! Man was I encouraged. Go Bryan and go Berean!

If you are wanting to think more intentionally about this idea of cultural engagement and worldview, please take a look at the challenging but worthwhile book, "Creation Regained : Biblical Basics of a Reformational Worldview," by Al Wolters. In the book, one of my favorite Wolters' quotes is, "God does not create junk and He does not junk what He creates."

Technology Dinosaurs and the Kingdom

So . . . here's my first stab at this "blog thing." Perhaps before I begin, I ought to make a bit of a confession. I am a technology dinosaur. Don't get me wrong, I like technology, computers (am a bit of a Mac snob to be honest), the advantages of being able to disseminate information quickly via email, etc. Yet there are some things about me that may seem a bit backwards to others. For example, I think it is borderline sacrilege to read a book online. Books were meant to be held, bindings admired, pages turned, copyrights consulted, dog-ears testifying to a journey in time, engagement and refreshment. "But aren't you hoping people will read your online blog Mike?" My blog is not a book. It is one guy reflecting on this thing called a summer preaching sabbatical and who may or may not have meaningful things to say regarding what God is doing in his life and the world. I invite you into this blog, yet at the same time admit that I do not read the blogs of others save for the occasional forwarded link with the comment from a trusted friend, "you gotta read this!"

Some more true confessions, I had a dial-up connection with AOL on my home computer until January of 2007. I've now had hi-speed for a whoppin' fifteen months. Hey don't knock it. My dial-up used a 256K modem which back in 1995 when I used a 28K modem was the stuff only of which technological dreams were made. Do we really think that 13 years represents that much progress when to the Lord a thousand years is like a day? and when my friend Loren, who faithfully folds our bulletins every week at Grace Chapel and has lived a lot of life, was seventy-eight years old back in 1995? I humbly suggest to you that my 256K modem was a technological feat to be celebrated rather than mocked because without it, there would be no such thing as "hi-speed" as we know it today. Cool? More confessions . . . "what is facebook or my space"? I don't know. "But have you started to text message Mike?" Well, I refused until January of this year when my friend Joie showed me how to use T9 English and now I can't imagine a world without the advantages (and joys) of text messaging. . . . and today this technology dinosaur starts blogging!!! So here we go . . . [oh, wait, . . . one final thing, whatever blog etiquette exists, I apologize in advance for my lack of manners. I don't plan on reading my blog anymore than anyone else's, so sorry if you were hoping for some kind of blogalogue- you know, . . . "blog dialogue." I am not looking for some sort of pseudocommunity- you know, . . . "artificial community" (now I 'm getting just plain condescending!) that causes people artificially to feel closeness and connection when in reality sitting in the privacy of their own homes behind a computer screen. Yuck! However, coffee and lunch I do do, so let me know]. OK, now let's try this blog thing . . .

This last week I was at a Midwest leaders conference that talked about vision and church planting. I was captured by one speaker who talked about asking God to give us a vision for the Kingdom of God that was larger than our church budget. And I thought, "I know this is true, but it's God who builds His church right? And if that is so, shouldn't we ask Him to do things that are beyond us?" I know it's simple thinking but it made a lot of sense and has begun to shape some of my prayers about the future of Grace Chapel, especially as we look at a third service in the Fall and what a move closer to the city at some point might look like. Could the "cost" of such an endeavor be a lot higher/bigger than anything we've been able to accomplish so far in our seven and a half years of existence as a church? Possibly? Probably? Yet isn't it exciting to think about loving God, one another and others so much that we begin trusting God for His Kingdom to grow not apart from but through our seemingly limited resources as a young church?